6 Chocolate Personality InventoryMr. Goodbar... Analytical, logical, gathers data before giving an opinion Plays the devil's advocate, sees all the possibilities, and what ifs Procrastinator, hates deadlines Likes to be the expert but in your own time Prefers structure, rules for everyone to follow, hates surprises

9 Objectives To discuss calendar reformTo discuss what a balanced calendar is and how it works, including advantages and disadvantagesTo check the dataTo discuss considerations for Belding Area SchoolsTo discuss a scan of current schools/districts transitioning inTo answer any questions about a working balance calendar experience

10 HistoryAlthough the traditional school calendar is the dominant calendar used by districts nationwide, the idea of balancing the school calendar dates back to the 1840s where schools in the big eastern cities were open school days (Glines, 2009; Silva, 2007).It was the 20 year period between , when many communities reduced the school year to 180 school days as summers were used at that point for additional school opportunities to teach English to immigrant families (Glines, 2009; Silva, 2007).

11 History, ContinuedSummer in the 1800s became an opportunity for children tohelp on the family farm.The agrarian calendar is believed to have roots that date back to farming and ranching (Weiss & Brown, 2003)Quote from the 2005 follow-up to the Prisoner of Time report:Learning in America is a prisoner of time. For the past 150years, American public schools have held time constantand let learning vary. The rule, only rarely voiced, is simple:learn what you can in the time we make available.It should surprise no on that some bright, hard-workingstudents do reasonably well. Everyone else, from typicalstudents to the dropout, runs into trouble (p.1).

15 Calendar ReformAmerican children spend the least amount time in the classroom when compared to other countries. Currently, the school year length in the States is 180 days. Advocates are pushing further toward a 200-day school year, which would align with Thailand, Scotland and the Netherlands, and leave us a close second with Israel, South Korea and Japan, who leads with a 243-day school year. The balanced school calendar does not require more days, but rather reducing the number of days off each summer.

16 What is a Year Round Calendar?Students at year-round calendar schools attend class the same number of days and receive the same instruction driven by the same curricula as students at traditional calendar schools. A year-round school modifies the traditional 180-day school calendar to keep the learning process continuous and to maximize the use of school facilities. Students have periodic, shorter breaks rather than one long summer break.

18 What Does a Balanced Calendar Look Like?YRE students attend the same number of days = 180Most popular is the planSeveral short vacations all through the year, rather than one three-month summer break

19 The Single Track ModelSingle-track modified calendar plans are designed to conform closely to the natural learning patterns of students (Ballinger & Kneese, 2006).In there were 1,944 single track schools working on a balanced calendar (Ballinger & Kneese, 2006).

21 Benefits of Balanced CalendarFacilitating educational improvements.Teachers in year-round programs generally believe that the quality of instruction is better than in traditional programs due to the continuity of instruction (Quinlan, George, & Emmett, 1987).Teachers also believe that the YRE schedule has a positive impact on the way in which they think about and plan for instruction (Shields & Oberg, 2000).The organization of the instructional time allows them to be reflective practitioners because they are able to plan at regular intervals during the academic year when it is needed the most (Shields & Oberg, 2000).They find it more efficient and productive to plan curriculum for shorter blocks of time and feel that the year-round calendar provides ample time segments for instruction.

22 Benefits of Balanced CalendarIn schools offering intersession programs during the vacation periods, teachers credit the intersession with enhancing and supplementing the regular curriculum (Quinlan, George, & Emmett, 1987).In addition, intersession courses provide opportunities for teacher experimentation with different curriculum and grade levels (Zykowski et at., 1991).Another advantage for teachers is that less review time is necessary at the beginning of each instructional block, as research has demonstrated that the shorter vacation periods reduce summer learning loss (Cooper, et al., 1996).

24 Benefits of Balanced CalendarEnhancing the climate of professionalism.Of the studies in which teacher attitudes have been explicitly examined, the research results clearly indicate that the majority of teachers in year-round schools favor the year-round calendar and believe it substantially enhances the professional environment (Worthen & Zsiray, 1994; Shields & Oberg, 2000).The year-round calendar can enhance teacher professionalism in several ways. Due to the frequency of breaks on the year-round calendar, teachers exhibit improved morale and motivation, and less burnout and stress (North Carolina Insight, 1997; Minnesota, 1999; Quinlan, George, & Emmett, 1987).

25 Benefits of Balanced CalendarIt has been reported that teachers were absent considerably less on YRE schedules (Brekke, 1984) and research by Quinlan, George, and Emmett (1987) substantiated the findings that YRE decreased teacher absences considerably (Worthen & Zsiray, 1994).

28 Theoretical FrameworkFaucet Theory:When children are in school, all children learn at the same rate. When on a recess (vacation), the middle class/upper class child maintains levels and the lower class child loses knowledge.

29 To what extent does summer intermission impact the retention of knowledge?The amount of knowledge that is lost during a summer break by childrenis paramount (Cooper, Charlton, Valentine, & Muhlenbruck, 2000).The extent of summer learning loss becomes more dramatic as studentsget older (Cooper, 2003).Smith (2012) indicated that two-thirds of the achievement gap in 9th gradecan be attributed to the amount of required time it takes a teacher toreteach and review what was learned prior to the summer intermission.All children attending school on the traditional calendar, according toCooper et al., (2000) lose an average of 2.6 months of math skills duringthe summer break annually.

30 Recent Unpublished DataSeeking to better understand the relationship between the balanced schoolCalendar and summer learning loss, I asked the following research questions:To what extent does the length of summer recess impact student mathematicallearning retention?Pre-test/Post-test comparison quasi-experimental quantitative research design2) Is there a relationship between student mathematical learning retention andat-risk status of students?

34 Impacting Behaviors Focused and engaged children tend to behave betterLess time teaching behavior expectations annually allows for more instructional time on current curriculumBrief behavior expectation review following each break

35 Considerations Determine the needs of your environmentWork with the community to ensure students will not be left without intersession opportunities, child care, summer activitiesWork with your educational partners to ensure all children accessing programming outside of the district will not be impactedSchools may need to offer Professional Development and community meetings

36 ConsiderationsDoes the Balanced School Calendar have a positive impact on the children that score within the bottom 30% on the MEAP?Faucet TheoryCan the Balanced School Calendar be implemented district wide?Yes, it is most efficient for districts to transition all schools (Michigan examples: Flint Beecher & Baldwin)

37 ConsiderationsHow would our students that attend the career center manage two calendars?Independent studies, project based learning, cooperative learning, attend activities on both calendarsWith strong partnerships with the ISD, how would we honor IEPs?Offer make-up sessions in September and MayPay an ISD employee to service balanced calendar childrenAllow families to seek their own services to be paid by the district

38 ConsiderationsDoes the balanced school calendar require specific adjustments to employee contracts?No, the entire Holt district has one contract, however, the contract has two different calendars guiding work time.If my district were to adopt the balanced school calendar, what kind of enrollment numbers do you forecast?Waiting list at many grade levelsIncrease in overall numbersBetter fit with current lifestyles and workloads

39 Another Option: Multi-Track PlanA Multi-track plan is implemented to provide additional capacity within already-existing space to accommodate over enrollment of students, maximize the efficient use of current resources, solve one or more administrative or logistical problems, or a variation of the three (Ballinger & Kneese, 2006).During the school year, there were 934 schools operating on the Multi-track plan (Ballinger & Kneese, 2006).

40 Collaboration and Professional DevelopmentQUALITY INSTRUCTION + TIME = LEARNING

41 School/Districts Transitioning to the Balanced School Calendar in 2015-16Muskegon Heights Public School Academy SystemYpsilanti Community SchoolsGEE Edmonson AcademyPort Huron Area School DistrictMadison District Public Schools (Oakland County)Baldwin Community SchoolsMadison School District (Lenawee County)Bay County Public School AcademyNiles Community SchoolsSchool District of the City of Pontiac

42 Other Resources Video: http://youtu.be/DlmIm_OGfvsBalancing the School Calendar: Perspective from the public and stakeholders (Kneese & Ballinger)School Calendar Reform: Learning in all Seasons (Ballinger & Kneese)Year Round Schools (Ruggiero)Year-Round Education: Change and Choice for Schools and Teachers (Haser & Nasser)

43 Questions/NetworkingTHE BALANCED CALENDAR OFFERS EDUCATORS THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK BACK AT THE CURRICULUM AND LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE. TOGETHER, BALANCED CALENDAR EDUCATORS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN PART DUE TO THE SCHOOL CALENDAR!THANK YOU!QUESTIONS